By Inese Timuka.
27.08.2008

In the heart of Old Riga, you’ll find a new souvenir shop called Cool Cats run by Canadian-Latvian Pēteris Puķītis, his wife Ieva, and their cool cat Elvis

Every item on sale has its own story behind it, because everything is either selected or made by the owners themselves. Various colorful T-shirts, tops, hoodies and caps are designed and made by them. Or perhaps you’d fancy official Latvian hockey, football and basketball jerseys? As a rule, almost every local souvenir shop sells some Latvian jewelry; Cool Cats peddle silver hand-made pieces by a Canadian-Latvian family owned company “Kalupe”, who have been jewelers for three generations.

For those who feel inspired by Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture, the store gives you a chance to take home plaster replicas of some ornate parts of these buildings. These home décor items are made by local arts students.

Pēteris and Ieva promise to spice up their selection of goods even more in the near future, so stay tuned.